A Survey of Weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea) from Some Localites of Kurdistan Region- Iraq, with New Records to the Entomofauna of Iraq
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Halgurd Rashed Ismael Akrawi and Talal Tahir Mahmoud Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. https://doi.org/10.26842/binhm.7.2019.15.3.0319 June, (2019) 15 (3): 319-333 A SURVEY OF WEEVILS (COLEOPTERA, CURCULIONOIDEA) FROM SOME LOCALITES OF KURDISTAN REGION- IRAQ, WITH NEW RECORDS TO THE ENTOMOFAUNA OF IRAQ Halgurd Rashed Ismael Akrawi* and Talal Tahir Mahmoud Duhok University, College of Agriculture, Department of Plant Protection, Kurdistan Region, Iraq *Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] Received Date: 12 January 2019, Accepted Date: 27 March 2019, Published Date: 27 June 2019 ABSTRACT This work is the first study of the Curculionoidea fauna from Kurdistan region of Iraq, based on the intensive survey in different localities of Kurdistan from March 2016 to November 2017. In total, 41 species belonging to 28 genera, 21 tribes and 3 families were collected and identified, including 25 species newly recorded for the Iraqi fauna. General distribution, collecting localities and methods, with plant association data for each species are given. Keywords: Coleoptera, Curculionoidea, Entomofauna, Iraq, Kurdistan. INTRODUCTION The superfamily Curculionoidea, commonly named snout beetles or weevils, is one of the highest diversity group of insects and probably the largest family of the order Coleoptera, that including over 62,000 species and around 6,000 genera thus far described (Oberprieler et al., 2007). They are small to large-sized beetles (approximately 1-60 mm) of different shapes, colors and habitats;Weevils can be recognized by their more or less long and slender rostrum with mouthparts situated at its apex, and mostly geniculate antennae with more or less compact antennal club (Thompson, 1992; Kuschel, 1995; Alonso- Zarazaga and Lyal, 1999; Anderson, 2002; Marvaldi et al., 2002; Oberprieler et al., 2007). These beetles are phytophagous insects exhibiting narrow to broad oligophagy or polyphagy; Most species develop on living plants whereas some others are feeding on decaying materials, some species are important as a medical insect causes allergic skin, rhinitis and asthma to bakers and laboratory workers such as Sitophilus species. Adults and larvae feed on plant roots, stems, leaves and seeds. Generally, females bore into various parts of plants where eggs are laid. Some weevils are important pests of agricultural crops, ornamental plants and stored products as well as trees and forestry products. On the other hand, a few species of weevils were successfully used in the biological control as an effective method for weed control (Wibmer and O'Brein, 1986; Herling et al., 1995; Anderson, 2002; Oberprieler, 2004). The Iraqi fauna of curculionids is poorly studied, especially that of the Kurdistan region, in addition to taxa listed in the newest catalogue (Alonso-Zarazaga et al., 2017); the records of Curculionoidea in Iraq were quoted in the official lists published by Derwesh (1963, 1965) 319 A survey of weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea) who listed 25 and 40 species respectively, Shalaby et al. (1966) who recorded one species, Kaddou (1967) who reported 11 species, Khalaf and Al-Omor (1974) who listed 23 species, Abdul-Rassoul (1976) who recorded 25 species, and Al-Ali (1977) who listed 28 species. Thereafter, Salih (2007) studied 20 species of two subfamilies, Abul Wahed and Alhadalg (2015) recorded 2 additional species from Basrah province, and Ismail (2015) studied microsculpture of 8 species and 3 genera. With the species recorded in this note, the Iraqi fauna of Curculionoidea has reached 85 species, surely far less of those actually occurring in this large and diverse country. This paper represents the first study of the weevils in Kurdistan Region, Iraq; and the aim of this study is faunistic study of weevils to contribute the knowledge of this superfamily in Iraq. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, the specimens were collected in various localities of Iraqi Kurdistan: Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Duhok provinces, from March 2016 to November 2017; the specimens were collected using different methods, such as sweeping net, beating sheet, pooter aspirator, light trap and hand-picking, from fruit and forest trees, vegetables and wild plants during 3-4 field collecting trips per week in the spring (March, April and May) and summer months (June, July and August); while we made two trips for the other months. All specimens collected by the first author are part of a Ph. D. study focused on the faunistic study of the Curculionoidea of Iraqi Kurdistan; all specimens are preserved in the Museum of Agriculture College, Duhok University, each of them bearing information about the place and date of collecting. Most of the species mentioned in this paper have been identified by Enzo Colonnelli, of Museo di Zoological, Sapienza Universita di Roma, Italy. Taxonomic position and scientific names of others species were identified by authors using original descriptions, available keys and catalogues, such as those by Zherikhin and Egorov (1991), May (1993), Alonso-Zarazaga and Lyal (1999, 2002), Colonnelli (2003, 2004), Legalov (2006, 2011), Lyal and Alonso-Zarazaga (2006), Velázquez de Castro et al. (2007) and Löbl and Smetana (2011, 2013). Tribes, genera, and species of the records have been listed alphabetically, higher taxonomy of the newest classification of Curculioniodea and general distribution of each species primarily follow Alonso-Zarazaga et al. (2017). The identification of species that have not been recorded for Iraq in Alonso-Zarazaga et al. (2017) was confirmed by Mohammad Saleh Abdul-Rassoul, God bless his soul, from Iraq Natural History Research center and Museum, University of Baghdad. The collected plants were identified by Saleem Ismail Shahbaz of the University of Duhok, College of Agriculture. Abbreviations of depositories: The names of collections and museums that provided species of this study are abbreviated as follows: MCZR = Museo Civico di Zoologia, Rome, Italy; MAMR = Ministry of Agriculture, Museum of Directorate Agricultural Research; UODM = University of Duhok, Museum of Agriculture College. RESULTS The result of this investigation is a total of 41 species belonging to 3 families, 9 subfamilies, 21 tribes, and 28 genera of Curculionoidea collected and identified from Kurdistan region. The list of the collected species is given alphabetically below: 320 Halgurd Rashed Ismael Akrawi and Talal Tahir Mahmoud 1- Family: Attelabidae Billberg, 1820 Subfamily: Attelabinae Billberg, 1820 Tribe: Attelabini Billberg, 1820 Attelabus sulcifrons (Argod-Vallon, 1895) Material examined: Duhok (Akre, Atrish) and Erbil (Mergasor), May 2016 and 2017, on Quercus aegilops. Collecting methods: Beating and hand-picking. General distribution: Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Macedonia, Turkey and Syria; newly record to Iraq. Subfamily: Rhynchitinae Gistel, 1848 Tribe : Rhynchitini Gistel, 1848 Rhynchites smyrnensis Desbrochers des Loges, 1869 Materials examined: Duhok :Amediand Kanimasy, April 2016 and 2017, on apricot and pear trees. Collecting methods: Beating, hand-picking and light trap jointed to trees. General distribution: Greece, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Turkey; newly record to Iraq. Rhynchites trojanus Gyllenhal, 1839 Materials examined: Duhok: Zawita April and May 2017, on apricot tree. Collecting methods: Beating, hand-picking and light trap. General distribution: Cyprus, Greece, Jordan and Turkey; newly record to Iraq. 2- Family: Brentidae Billberg, 1820 Subfamily: Apioninae Schoenherr, 1823 Tribe: Apionini Schoenherr, 1823 Apion frumentarium (Linnaeus, 1758) Materials examined: Duhok: Sumel, June and July 2016, on Rumex crispus. Collecting methods: Sweeping net. General distribution: Western Palaearctic, recorded from Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Georgia, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, European Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine; newly record to Iraq. Tribe: Aspidapiini Alonso-Zarazaga, 1990 Aspidapion radiolus (Marsham, 1802) Materials examined: Duhok :Atrish ; Sulaymaniyah :Dukan, July 2016 and 2017, on Malva neglecta, Alcea setosa and A. kurdica. Collecting methods: beating and aspirator. General distribution: Widely distributed in Western Palaearctic, reported from Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Armenia, Austria, Azores, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Morocco, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, 321 A survey of weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea) Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Syria, Tadzhikistan, Turkey, Tunisia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan; this species reported also from tropical Africa. Aspidapion aeneum (Fabricius, 1775) Materials examined: Duhok: Akre and Atrish; Erbil :Shaqlawa, July and August 2017, on Malva neglecta and Alcea setosa. Collecting methods: Beating and aspirator. General distribution: Western Palaearctic, recorded from Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France, Georgia, Great Britain, Hungary, Greece, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lithuania,